Constituency Groups

NWSA CONSTITUENCY GROUPS

Current members of NWSA can join and participate in constituency groups. Becoming active in a constituency group can support members' research interest and enhance members' networks as well as leadership skills. Article VII of the NWSA bylawsdefine the roles and activities of constituency groups.

Conference attendees can join groups via the membership form and are encouraged to attend the business meeting at the NWSA conference.

NWSA offers a range of constituent group opportunities to its members in order to advance its mission, the field, and to foster paths to leadership, including but not limited to:

Caucuses. Caucuses focus on groups that are under-represented within society or NWSA. Program Administration & Development and Women’s Centers. These two groups focus roles that are vital to the NWSA mission. Task Forces. Task Forces focus on an issue relevant to NWSA that can be addressed through action. Interest Groups. Interest groups focus on areas of scholarly inquiry.

Status & Operation General. The GC may set policy regarding constituent groups, consistent with these bylaws.

Members. Individual members interested in joining one or more constituent groups do so via their annual membership forms.

Leadership. In order to fulfill their role as paths to leadership and maintain process consistency throughout NWSA, constituent groups are expected to have a Chair of Record defined as follows:

A constituent group chair is elected via election by the members as set forth in Article VIII.A-C of the bylaws.
Constituent group chairs are subject to the terms/term limits set forth in Article VIII.D of the bylaws.
Groups with co-chairs to manage their affairs must designate one (1) individual as Chair of Record.

Authority General. Constituent groups may not act on behalf of NWSA or commit NWSA resources.

Note: We do not require handwritten signatures. You can submit a spreadsheet with the name, institution, and email address of the 25 members. The NWSA office will verify their current individual memberships.

Time Frame:
Requests for new groups which meet the requirements must be received by September 1 of each calendar year to be listed on the following year’s membership form.

For example, requests received by September 1, 2018 which meet the requirements will be listed on the NWSA 2019 individual membership form. This form will be posted in early October.

To Join a Constituency Group:
You can join a constituency group when you join or renew your membership with NWSA or after you have completed the membership process.

Download the individual NWSA membership formand mark the groups you would like to join, including the appropriate fee if necessary.

Log in and join constituency groups online. Current members will see the tab "My Caucuses" on the left hand side of the page. You must have a current NWSA membership to join a constituency group.

Constituency Groups and Chairs
NOTE: Elections for Group Chairs take place in September with some group elections in odd years and some in even years. Check the Constituency Group Chair election page for details.